Monday 11.28.11

Warmup:
-400m run

2 Rounds of:
-5 Strict Toes to Bar
-5 Attempts at Max Length L-Sit (2-3 seconds per attempt)
-20 yard Shuttle Sprint

-Push Press: 75x5, 95x5

SWOD:
Push Press: , 115x5, 135x5, 155xMaxReps (4)

Metcon:
10:00 AMRAP of:
-400m run
-21 Hang Squat Cleans @ 115#
-12 Ring Dips
1 Round + 400m run + 18 Hang Squat Cleans

Sunday 11.27.11

Warmup:
-Burgener Warmup
-3 Position Snatches with 45#,75#

SWOD:
-Snatch: 95x2, 102x2, 108x1, 115x1, 108x1, 115x1
-Clean and Jerk: 147x2, 158x2, 168x1, 179x1, 168x1, 179x1
-Front Squats: 2x8@179#, 7,7,6 @ 207#
-Snatch Shrugs: 5x8 @ 156#
-Strict Knees to Elbows: 3x10
-Back Extensions: 15, 12, 10

Metcon:
I ran out of time.  The SWOD portion of the workout took me nearly 90 minutes.  I will work in a metcon on my "off day" tomorrow to make up for it.

Saturday 11.26.11

Warmup:
Bench Press: 45x5, 115x5
Weighted Ring Dips: Bodyweight x5, 25x5

SWOD:
Bench: 145x5, 165x5, 190xMax Reps (6)
Weighted Ring Dips: 53x5, 61x5, 69xMax Reps (3)

Metcon:
10:00 AMRAP of:
*5-4-3-2-1 116# Atlas Stone to Shoulder
*50ft Bodyweight Sled Push
1 Round + finished set of 2 stone to shoulders.

Friday 11.25.11

This is about how happy Brad and I were to be back together working out today.

Warmup:
-500m row
-Burgener Warmup with 45# Bar

SWOD:
-3 Position Cleans (Power Clean, Hang Squat Clean, Full Squat Clean): 2 cycles @ 160#, 4 cycles @ 172# (rest between each cycle)
-Clean Pulls: 5x6 @ 225#
-Back Squats: 8,8,6,6,5 @ 221#
-Box Jumps: 3x5 @ 42"
-Chinups: 2x10

This is part of my 12 week Olympic lifting cycle.  Although my traps are sufficiently smoked pretty much every day, my technique and strength is getting better.  The back squats almost killed me though.

Metcon:
10:00 AMRAP of today's gym WOD, scaled up:
-10 SDHP's @ 115#
-20 Double Unders
8 Rounds + 5 SDHP's

With the large volume of work during the SWOD's, I'm focusing on capping all my metcons at 10:00.  The goal is to be able to scale up the weight whenever possible, but keep the workouts short enough that I can work at maximum intensity for the entire WOD.  I have yet to finish one unbroken yet.  I may never do it.  But I feel like the intensity of my workouts has been much better.

Sunday 11.13.11

Today I am embarking on the start of a 12 week Olympic lifting program designed by Mike Burgener (of "Burgener warm-up" fame).  My snatch and jerk numbers fall way behind my other lifts and I decided to mix it up and address this problem over the course of the next 3 months.

Warmup:
"Burgener Warmup"
Power Snatch/Hang Squat Snatch/Snatch @ 45#, 75#

SWOD:
-Power Snatch/Hang Squat Snatch/Full Snatch: 2 reps @ 95#, 3 reps @ 102#
-Snatch Balance: 2x3 @ 73#, 3x3 @ 80# (50/55%)
-Back Squat: 8,8,6,6,5 @ 237#
-Clean Shrugs: 5x5 @ 282#
-Back Extensions: 3x10
-Situps: 2x25
-Chinups: 1x10

These numbers seem pretty random, but the program is set up specifically to work off percentages of my 1RM (145# Snatch, 245# Clean, 210# Jerk).  The snatch balance numbers were supposed to be based on 70/75% of my 1RM snatch, but it just felt too heavy.  Obviously my snatch numbers are pretty weak.  Let's hope this program changes that.

Metcon:
-Max Reps of "Woman-Makers" in 6 minutes:
38 reps @ 40# dumbbell

Most of my focus during this Olympic lifting cycle will be strictly on the lifts.  However, I will be throwing in 6-8 minute AMRAP's at the end of each session.  This will allow me to focus strictly on keeping my intensity extremely high, and won't burn me out too much for my next lifting day.  Now before you guys make fun of me for the "Woman-Makers", its a burpee with a dumbbell in one hand, then finished off with a one-arm snatch, and then a push press.  BRUTAL.

Diet:
-1 Protein Shake (Whole Milk, Whey Protein, Peanut Butter, Ice)
-3 pieces of chicken, sweet potato fries, 1 cup veggies, 1/4 avocado, diet soda
-Package of Turkey Lunch Meat
-2 Handfuls of Trail Mix
-Handful of Shredded Cheddar Cheese
-4 Pieces of Chicken, 2 cups of sweet potatoes
-Tons of Water

Monday 11.7.11

After a ridiculously long post about how I was going to start blogging my food...I stopped blogging my food.  I will do my best to not let that happen again.  So here goes Monday:

-Protein shake (milk, whey, peanut butter, ice)
-Handful of cashews
-Large bowl of steak, peppers, and rice
-4 pieces of chicken, sweet potato fries, bowl of veggies, corn tortilla at El Pollo Loco
-1/4lb bacon, 3 eggs, and bag of vegetables
-2 Diet Sodas and tons of water!

Sunday 11.6.11

Sunday is typically an off-day for me, but I am trying to spend more time at home during the week, so even though I'm torched from Oly-lifting yesterday...I'm back at it again!

SWOD:
Snatch Complex (1 Power Snatch, 1 Hang Squat Snatch, 1 Squat Snatch)
1 Complex on the 2-minute mark for 30 minutes:
65,65,75,75,75,80,80,85,90,90,95,95,95,100.100.

I know, I know, the weight on these snatches is incredibly light.  But I worked with Matt on some snatch technique he learned at his certification last weekend, and I wanted to really focus on getting my form down solid...hence the ridiculously small, gradual increases in weight.

Metcon:
24,18,12 of:
-1-Arm KB Thrusters @ 53# (half reps with each arm)
-Ring Dips
11:37

My goal for this workout was to work strict ring dips throughout.  That went out the window about halfway through the first round when I started kipping like crazy.  After heavy front squats yesterday, the kb thrusters really took their toll on me.  This is the start of my week of programming, so let's see how much I bitch about the workouts that I actually had control over!

Saturday 11.5.11

Today was strictly an Olympic lifting day for me.  Normally Saturday is Strongman, but I was the only one in the gym this morning, and just didn't have that level of self motivation that Strongman usually requires.

SWOD:
Front Squats: 95x5, 135x3, 185x3, 225x2, then 245x5x3
Power Cleans: 95x5, 135x3, 165x3, 185x2, then 210x5x3 (PR)

It felt pretty damn good to have a day of nothing but heavy lifting (while watching all the clients go through a brutal Saturday WOD, haha).  I am entertaining thoughts of going through an Olympic lifting cycle at the start of 2012 before getting ready for the CrossFit Games Open.  I just need dramatic improvement in this area.

Friday 11.4.11

SWOD:
Deadlifts: 195x5, 245x5, 315x3, 385x3, 425x1, 480x0 (stapled!)

The 5-5-3-3-1-1 scheme is not typically the one I would follow for trying to hit a new PR on my deadlift.  So trying to go for 480# was probably more than a little ambitious. 425# felt very easy, but I didn't have a shot at that 480#.  Oh well...still almost two months until the next Total.

Metcon:
12 min AMRAP of:
15 SDHP @ 95#
15 Bar Facing Burpees
5 Rounds + 13 SDHP

Any WOD with burpees in it is a complete bitch by nature...but bar-facing burpees just manage to take it to another level.  I had some serious failure on the SDHP's in rounds 4-6.  Another silent killer of a WOD programmed by Matt.

My Diet Day 1

In an effort to both be more accountable and to also show current clients how the coaches are eating on a daily basis, I am going to start blogging my diet.  I find that many members get very eager to jump strictly into the "CrossFit diet" of: eat lean meats and vegetables, nuts and seeds, some fruit, little starch and no sugar.  In terms of lifelong health effects, I have no doubts about this being the optimal prescription to consume my food.  However, in the real world of both daily life and training at The Compound, the strict paleo diet never worked for me.

Most of you at the gym know that I have an incredibly fast metabolism.  And when I tried to go strict paleo, I found that my body weakened.  I was losing weight, my lifts were going down, and I didn't feel nearly as strong.  In theory I was probably a healthier person, but reality painted a much different picture.  So after much consulting, tweaking, consulting again, and re-tweaking, I settled on a diet that works for me in theory, in reality, and doesn't drive me insane to follow either (because I love to eat as much as the next person).  I follow the paleo model, but I make some pretty major changes:

-Dairy is ok (whole milk, whey protein, cheese, plain greek yogurt, sour cream, etc)
-Potatoes are ok (sweet, brown, red, or even INO fries -just potatoes and oil)
-I eat corn/corn products (mainly corn tortillas) and rice, because they are gluten-free
-I try to cheat one meal a week, but if its 2 or 3, I don't sweat it because I know I'm busting my ass in the gym five days a week.
-I drink 64oz of water a day, and add 12oz for every diet soda I consume during that day

For me, paleo made me miserable, and I couldn't fathom the idea that CF was supposed to improve my quality of life, yet I couldn't enjoy food anymore.  Those two ideas just didn't work for me.  So I found a way to still eat pretty damn healthy, keep my weight/lifts up, and not go crazy in the process.  I encourage all our members to tweak and play around with nutrition.  No one way is right for everyone, and you need to find a model that works for you.  However, I do encourage you to start with CrossFit nutrition as a good building block for whichever diet you choose.  I just wanted to put out some information on why I eat what I eat so members can see what coaches are doing, why they are doing it, and how it may apply to them.  With that being said, here goes day one (following days will be posted on with my workout information)...

-Protein shake (whole milk, whey protein, peanut butter, ice)
-Chicken fajitas (bell peppers, marinated chicken, rice)
-Handful of goldfish
-2 handfuls of mixed nuts
-In N Out double-double (protein style) with fries
-2 diet cokes
-88 oz of water

Believe it or not, this is a relatively light day of eating for me.  I was extremely busy and didn't have the time to eat another meal or two like I should have.  You may see a much higher volume in days to come.
-

Thursday 11.3.11

Warmup:
-500m row
-2 rounds of:
-10 Behind the Neck Press @ 45#
-10 Walking Lunges
-10 GHD Hip Extensions
-10 Good Mornings @ 45#

SWOD:
Split Jerks:  95x3, 135x3, 155x3, 170x3, 185x3

I can definitely feel my split jerk improving, both in terms of sheer strength and technique.  But I'm frustrated by the lack of strength/flexibility in my wrists.  Racking the bar and such heavy weights really puts a toll on them and I need to find a way to improve this if I want my jerk to keep increasing.

Metcon:
On the minute for 15 minutes:
1 Power Clean and 2 Split Jerks @ 155#
Completed RX'd.

To dovetail off the above comments...I felt like I could have pushed myself to a little higher weight on this metcon if not for the pain in my wrists from holding heavy weight in the racked position.  I feel like this is really holding me back in terms of increasing my 1RM beyond 210#.  Yet another thing to work on damnit....

Tuesday 11.1.11

Warmup:
-250 row
-15 sec. Samson stretch (each leg)
-15 Bent Leg Reverse Hypers
-15 Ring Rows
-15 Second Handstand Hold

SWOD:
Weighted Chin-Ups:
25x5, 50x4, 70x3, 85x2, 100x1, 110x1, 115x1 (PR)

I started off gauging my rep scheme based on my previous PR for weighted pullups.  I didnt stop to take into account that chinups are a much easier movement to accomplish.  Hence the 3 different attempts at a max effort movement....still a PR though! Although me and Geoff were racing each other all night for the highest total weight, and apparently he beat me by a single pound.  Bastard!

Metcon:
4 Rounds for Time of:
-10 1-arm Kb Snatches @ 53# (each arm)
-10 Clapping Pushups
-10 CTB Pullups
11:47

Talk about an upper body fade.  I have never been able to do 1 armed snatches @ 53# before, so I was please to make it through so many reps in this WOD.  It's amazing how training heavy in general can lead to so many improvements across so many areas.  I still couldn't keep up with Geoff in this workout either.  He humbled me just like the SWOD.  So over getting beat by old men tonight.  Thursday is gonna be a young man's night at The Compound!

Monday 10.31.11

SWOD:
Back Squat: 165x3, 195x3, 235x3, 265x3, 285x3 (last two reps assisted)

Usually I feel awesome for Monday workouts, but after heavy squat cleans on Friday, and heavier sled pulls on Saturday, my legs were absolutely smoked to start the week! I barely hit a single rep at 285#, which is 30# below my 1RM.  Not a super encouraging day in terms of numbers, but I fought hard through the reps so I'll take it.

Metcon:
12:00 AMRAP of:
-5 Thrusters @ 50% 1RM (95#)
-15 Situps
-25 DU's
9 rounds + 5 thrusters + 7 situps

Typically, I wouldn't go so light on the thrusters in a WOD like this.  I thought long and hard about scaling up to 135#, and most weeks I would have.  But with heavy jerks on the horizon later this week (perks of getting the programming early, lol), I decided to stay light today, focus on speed, and gear up to set some PR's later in the week! Either way...this WOD jacked me up pretty good.  Awesome way to start another week of training.